PEOPLE Kevin Brady U.S. representative retires after 13 terms
BY VANESSA HOLT
CHAIRING A COMMITTEE One of Kevin Brady’s roles in his 13 terms in U.S. Congress was chair of the House Ways and Means Committee from 2015-19. • The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee in the House. • Bills relating to taxation must originate in the House of Representatives. • Members of the committee cannot serve on another House committee without a waiver. • The committee’s jurisdiction extends to taxation, tari s and other revenue- raising measures. • The committee has jurisdiction over programs such as Social Security, unemployment insurance and Medicare.
Representing Texas’ 8th Congressional District since 1997, U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady announced in 2021 he would not seek re-election to a 14th term, which ended Jan. 3. The Woodlands Township on Jan. 19 issued a proclamation recognizing his accomplishments. Community Impact interviewed Brady on Nov. 22. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
VANESSA HOLT COMMUNITY IMPACT
WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE PERSONALLY TAKEN AWAY FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE IN CONGRESS? There are a number of legislative achievements that I’m very proud of, but I think my overriding impression is that I’m leaving Congress exactly the way I entered it, which is with an absolute belief [that] we’re a remark- able country. You see it in our civic clubs or our churches. ... Everyone I know is volunteering to help someone else. Feeding the hungry or helping the homeless, helping our veterans coming back, ... it’s just really remarkable. IN YOUR TIME OUT OF CON GRESS, DO YOU EXPECT TO PURSUE THOSE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES? Starting [in 2023], we’ll start looking for a new adventure. We live here in The Woodlands. ... I’ve been here 37 years in The Woodlands; I came over to run the chamber of commerce and really help build out this community. And so this is our home, for [my wife], Cathy, and our two boys. But I’m going to be open to whatever opportunities there are. HOW DO YOU FEEL THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY AREA HAS INFORMED WHAT YOU
BROUGHT TO CONGRESS? My community and my county had a huge impact on my work. You know, the best decision ... I made was to not move to Washington, [D.C.], [and] commute to work each week. ... We’re getting close to 2.8 million miles or something, back and forth. We wouldn’t change that decision because it kept us grounded here at home among our neighbors, and this made a big di erence in how I legislate as I did tax reform, for example, and worked on how we ... grow paychecks for people, how we create more jobs and help small businesses. I really ... always drove toward the impacts that would hap- pen ... here at home because I knew if it helped us, ... our Main Street businesses and our working families, ... [it] would help others. WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR CONGRESS NEXT YEAR? So, rst and foremost, I haven’t seen a problem yet that can’t be solved. You know, some are more di cult than others. But I know this: The big ones almost always require both parties working together. That includes ... getting this in ation under wraps. We’re heading into a recession. The question is: How long and how harsh will it be to break the
in ation that happened this past two years? It won’t be easy, I think. WHAT DO YOU FEEL SOME OF YOUR GREATEST ACCOMPLISH MENTS WERE? Tax reform was easily the most dif- cult thing because it only happens once a generation in 31 years. It’s hard, but we got it done. Every week, it seemed like another company business was moving overseas. ... So we saw what happened; we immediately leapfrogged to the most competitive economy in the world. [In 2019], household income per family grew more in one year than in all eight years previously. ... We lifted 6 million Americans out of poverty, ... [and] income inequality began to shrink in America. WHAT ISSUES ON THE LOCAL LEVEL WILL BE IMPORTANT DURING NEXT YEAR’S TEXAS LEGISLATURE? We’ve got a fantastic legislative team here ... with [state Sen. Brandon] Creighton chairing higher education, [state Sen. Robert] Nich- ols on transportation and ... [state Rep. Will] Metcalf [as] the chairman of state a airs. [Those are] huge issues. We’ve got as strong a lineup as I’ve seen for the community and the county.
Kevin Brady, fourth from left, and his wife, Cathy, third from left, are recognized by The Woodlands.
JESSICA SHORTEN COMMUNITY IMPACT
DISTRICT 8 118th Congress 2023-25
SOURCE: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMUNITY IMPACT
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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